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RailRiders fall to Durham

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Even with their best pitcher on the mound, even with a strong outing to build off the night before, the RailRiders still had no answer for what is looking like a dominant Durham offense.

The Bulls scored in six of their first seven innings, chasing ace Chris Bootcheck and handing him is first loss in a relentless 8-4 win over the RailRiders on Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Durham scored with two out in the first inning, and nothing the RailRiders seemed to be able to do offensively afterward mattered much against a Bulls offense that just kept finding a way to bring runners home.

They did it in that first inning, after Bootcheck struck out the first two batters he faced.

A triple by Jason Bourgeois and a single by top prospect Wil Myers made it 1-0.

The RailRiders continued to rely on the long ball a night after hitting two two-out homers to lead them to a win over Norfolk. Thomas Neal hit his first homer of the year in the third inning to tie it. But the Bulls did what they do best in the bottom of the inning.

They answered.

Montrose grad Rich Thompson started the bottom of the third by smoking a single to right.

He stole second, and Brandon Guyer beat out a bunt hit that got Thompson to third. A groundball by Myers with one out made it 2-1.

Back-to-back triples in the third inning by Tim Beckham and Cole Figueroa made it 3-1, but another Neal homer gave the RailRiders some momentum - and a one-run deficit in the fifth.

But no RailRiders threat deterred Durham.

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